Chapter two: Truth can be cruel sometimes

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Rapunzel:

I stepped back right away and looked up at her. I hoped she just hadn't said what I thought she said.

"What?"

Please don't say it again. Please don't. But of course, she did.

"I am not your real mother, Flower of mine."

She looked at me. Where first was pain , concern and love, there now came anger and greed in her eyes. I backed off a few steps but she followed me.

"Oh, Rapunzel. Look at you, as fragile as a flower. Still a little sapling, just a sprout. You wouldn't understand the world below your feet."

"Because you kept me away from it!" I searched for the skillet "You put me in this tower, making me believe you were my real mother, just because...." I stopped whispering. Why did she do this?

"Yes, my dear. Why?" She seemed to have read my thoughts.

"Now this letter has come, you are not save anymore. So I'll tell you what: I tell you the truth. But afterwards, you need to come with me, to a place not even magic would be able to reach you, Flower... So what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

She looked at me, severe.

"Or what? Would you kill me?" I asked her, with more bravery then I had before.

Fake-mother laughed. It was her normal laugh, but only now I discovered it was an evil one. A witch's laugh in a fairy tale.

"No, flower. I will take you by force and you will never know why."

She looked at me, weirdly calm. I swallowed.

"Tell me everything, Gothel. I will come with you."

"Calling me Gothel now? Well, you got over it quickly!" She laughed again. "Take a seat, you might need it..."

We sat down at the kitchen table. While she seemed comfortable, I sat straight, my hands on my lap and Pascal on my shoulder. I could feel his little heartbeat and I knew he was not feeling well either.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful kingdom. It was called Corona."

Wasn't that the name on my letter? I felt tense as Gothel continued.

"The people in the country were very friendly and open. They loved their king and queen and you might see they had a huge party when the news came out their favourite royals expected a baby. They feasted for seven days and seven nights. But then, the queen became ill. Very ill. Her condition became so bad, that only one thing could save her and the unborn baby. A flower, born out of pure sunlight, with magical powers, was the only medicine that could cure them.

All the people in the kingdom went looking for the flower. Everyone, except me. You see," she followed, "I had kept the flower in my possession for almost 300 years. If they would take it away from me, I would die within a few months."

She sighed and looked intensely at me.

"I hid the magical flower underneath a woven bucket of branches and leaves. One day, when I just used her powers, I heard a patrol passing by. I ran away, by accident knocking over my camouflage. Unfortunately, there wasn't time left to cover it again and I could do nothing but hope the patrol would not find it. The next morning, I went back and the flower was gone." She took a deep breath.

" The patrol what found my precious flower, went to the capital, where the palace stood. They gave the queen a drink made of the flower dissolved in water. She healed immediately.

When the child was born, the baby girl had beautiful blonde hair. Her parents loved her so much that that night, they lit a lampion and pushed it up in the air.

But the child went missing and the whole country of Corona grieved. Every year, on the little princess' birthday, the people would all lit up a lampion, hoping their lost princess would return home one day."

And then it hit me. For a moment I couldn't breathe, and I became furious. I think I, for the first time in forever, became angry at Gothel.

"AM I THE LOST PRINCESS?" I yelled at her. I had never yelled before and despite all, I was shocked of myself. It seemed Gothel didn't suffer from that, because she continued her story as if I hadn't just yelled at her.

"When I discovered the flower was gone, I made up a plan. So come that, when the king and queen were asleep, I climbed the palace' walls and sneaked over to the little baby. I sang the Song of the Flower, and her hair started glowing. Apparently, her hair took over the powers the flower once had. I decided to cut some hairs off, so I could keep my cure always with me. Sadly, the hairs I cut went brown and immediately lost their magic."

I felt behind my ear. The hairs there were brown.

" I had to figure something else. I took the baby with me. Since that day, I always had my one magical flower, right here in this tower."

There was an awful silence. A long one, in which things were said unspoken.

"Why?" I asked her eventually "Why is it so important to you to keep young?"

She smiled and says: "Oh, Flower of mine... You wouldn't understand."

She stood up and searched in her bag. I stood up too, slowly.

"Now, Rapunzel von Conora, will you come with me or do I have to force you?" She pulled a rope out of her bag.

"That wouldn't be necessary, Gothel. I gave you my word so I come with you. I. Am. Not. A. Liar!"

"Good girl. You have three minutes to get your stuff."

With a sad feeling, I walked to my room. Every spark hope of getting out of this tower was gone.

I sat on my bed, looking around my tower room. I needed to take my painting stuff. It was everything for me. I looked further and couldn't spot anything else. Maybe my books? I stuffed them into my own bag, one I had made ages ago. I liked it very much. The whole thing was covered with little suns and stars.

Then, I sat back on my bed and started to cry. All the hope was gone. And I wouldn't even be able to know my parents, the kingdom, the people... Truth can be cruel sometimes.

After a minute I heard a loud bang and I stopped crying. I heard Gohel screaming and then another loud BANG. Quickly, I ran downstairs to see what was happening. What I saw there, I am sure I would never forget.

Gothel lied on the floor, apparently knocked-out, in a pile of pots and pans. On the other side of the tower, I saw a woman pointing a sort of stick at her. Her face would be the first face I saw besides Gothel's. The woman's face was severe, old and she had piercing green eyes. She wore a long, pointy hat and green robes. When she saw me, she pointed her stick at me.

"Are you Rapunzel von Conora?"

She had an icy, yet caring voice. It was a weird combination, but it worked for me. I nodded and then started crying again. Her eyes got soft and she lowered the stick.

"Oh, girl, what have you been going through?" she asked me and she hugged me. It was a warm, comforting hug.

I told her the whole story and when I finished talking, she said

"You know, Rapunzel?" I looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"All your troubles are over now. You received a letter from a school, right? It is a magic school. I am the headmistress of that school. My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am going to take you to yourparents!"

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A/N:

I planned on making this chapter shorter than the first, I don't think I did a good job though...

I think I was a little over-enthousiastic, so please don't blame me if I wait longer then three days to update the next time!

If you see anything what isn't right, or if you think this is a very funny chapter, just comment! :)

But anyway, thanks for reading, and special thanks to my first readers (some friends of mine who I didn't have force to read it...)!

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